Nintendo's End

Is Nintendo as strong as it was in the 90's?

I say no, but with the Wii coming, Nintendo's uprising will come.

The 90's was definitely Nintendo's prime...

The Wii might make a difference, I don't know, it's gonna cost so much... I'm not sure if my mom'll get me one or not.

the 90's???

come one younglings, nintendo was at it's prime in the 80's, it brought the whole video gaming industry back to life, in the 90's nintendo started to have it's competitors, after the SNES nintendo started going downhill, it simply couldn't compete with the power and library of the ps1.

Oh, well sorry for not being born yet...

But I guess you're right. Heh, forgot about the 80's.

No.

They were at their prime when SNES came out, but with N64, they started losing some steam. All they really did in that era was make Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, but nothing else was really all that notable. Since then, they've made a few decent games, but none as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros., Super Metroid, or Ocarina of Time. That, and they've lost the console war twice in a row.

This next generation could change things, though. The DS is a fairly innovative device, and it's currently dominating the handheld market, but then again Nintendo's handhelds always have.

The Wii is also somewhat innovative, though I'm sure the general public will care more about the games and price than the controller. It's going to be the cheapest console on the market, so casual gamers and parents picking up a video game system for Christmas will definitely buy it.

All in all, though, I can't see this generation looking much different than the last. PS3 is absurdly expensive, but I don't think the price will deter Sony fans. PS2 outsells GC by 80 million, despite the fact that GC has always been cheaper to buy. Unless Wii gets as much third party support as PS3, it probably won't do as well.

From a gamer's point of view, though, Nintendo wins just for innovation. I definitely think they're putting more effort into it, but I'm not sure the people who like FPS and RPGs are really going to care.

Ugh. At least this isn't another one of those "What if Nintendo Fails" Threads.

Prime was definately the NES and SNES era. They lost it during the N64 era, though not badly, but hit bottom with the Gamecube. Nuff said. Who knows what will happen to the Wii. There is obviously a wide amount of intrest in the console.

Originally Posted by vacumgod

the 90's???

come one younglings, nintendo was at it's prime in the 80's, it brought the whole video gaming industry back to life, in the 90's nintendo started to have it's competitors, after the SNES nintendo started going downhill, it simply couldn't compete with the power and library of the ps1.

I agree with you, vacumgod, the 80's were Nintendos prime!!
How great was it coming home from school to play games like, Gyromite, Super Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, LoZ(of course), Hogans Alley, PunchOut, Metroid, and I could just go on and on with other games!!!!
Truthfully, and sadly, Nintendo has regressed in game quality the last couple of years. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure TP will be great. But as a whole game making entity, Nintendo is sliding a little. IMO.

Originally Posted by vacumgod

the 90's???

come one younglings, nintendo was at it's prime in the 80's, it brought the whole video gaming industry back to life, in the 90's nintendo started to have it's competitors, after the SNES nintendo started going downhill, it simply couldn't compete with the power and library of the ps1.

Economy or pure fun, what is it you speak of? If you ask me, the pure fun part is highly based on opinion, although I prefer the SNES-N64 era. NES was great as well.

Economically I have little to no idea, though my guess is around the beginning when they had little competition, or perhaps in the SNES era.

Originally Posted by Slime

No.

They were at their prime when SNES came out, but with N64, they started losing some steam. All they really did in that era was make Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, but nothing else was really all that notable. Since then, they've made a few decent games, but none as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros., Super Metroid, or Ocarina of Time. That, and they've lost the console war twice in a row.

No, the breakdown started during the SNES era. When Sonic came out, it started killing Mario until Super Mario 64 but then came Sony with the Playstation and look how it is now.

All in all, though, I can't see this generation looking much different than the last. PS3 is absurdly expensive, but I don't think the price will deter Sony fans. PS2 outsells GC by 80 million, despite the fact that GC has always been cheaper to buy. Unless Wii gets as much third party support as PS3, it probably won't do as well.

There is definatly a big chance of a power shift this console war, wether Sony will keep it or not I have no idea but this time it will be different.

no its not but the wii will hopefully make this its strongest generation EVER. including the 80's.

No one said that the 80's was not Nintendo's prime. The poll was about which was worse for Nintendo; now or the 90's? Sorry for the confusion.

Nintendo prime had to been in the '90 but the Wii and the PS3 will change that. what I mean by the PS3 will help is that it is going to suck so much that people will just buy the Wii.








Da Chich Lover, who is Moving Along.

Originally Posted by vacumgod

the 90's???

come one younglings, nintendo was at it's prime in the 80's, it brought the whole video gaming industry back to life, in the 90's nintendo started to have it's competitors, after the SNES nintendo started going downhill, it simply couldn't compete with the power and library of the ps1.

Clearly you forget that during the early ninties nintendo had a strangle hold on the handheld market in this period and also I do believe nintendo eventually won the console war with sega on terms of annual sales, not cummatively though due to the Genesis/Mega Drive being hugely popular on intial release in the states. the thing you have to rememeber about nintendo is that as a company they have existed more than a hundred years and have been in the games business for roughly twenty-five. They've got the experience so you can never quite count them out.

The early nineties came and went, mario started to loose is popularity as #1 mascot, and then came the 3D era of videogaming, which nintendo clearly lost.

Well, if nintendo has been around for more than 100 years, then one could say that the videogaming industry is something relativly new to nintendo compared to another type of gaming like say, cards.
While you can never count nintendo out, you can surely slap them on the face for turning to phillips CD instead of sony, or staying with cartridges during the 64, or the level of arrogance at nintendo during the GC era.
Thank goodness nintendo seems to be learning.

The fact of the matter is, nintendo is not a sony or a microsoft, the later two companies make other products besides games, and outside the vg industry are primarily known for their other products. The gaming industry is really only seen as a great investment rather than the entire exsistence of the company. All nintendo has is it's games, it can't turn back and increase the sales of small card games, it's videogames or die for nintendo.

...The 90's suck.

No but seriously, we're only half way through the decade, so, not really much to compare to (since we're not even done yet...). Nintendo was pretty much dominating the handheld market for the longest of time (the company to provide a handheld system that was so decked out and of an outrageous price). Thank the Game Boy series for that.

I don't think Nintendo is dominating Sony in the handheld market right now per say, but they are beating them by a lot. However, during the Gamecube's time (which is still now), Nintendo didn't do as well as they did in the 90's. There were hardly any good games for the Gamecube. The N64 at least had a pretty good line of games. Bu Sony was beating them in the consol market back then (no, really?).

Anyways, as of now (with the Wii not out yet and all), I'd say that Nintendo isn't doing good as they did in the 90's (however, the DS has defiantly got them back on their feet). Many say that the Wii will make or break Nintendo. I think it looks pretty good. So maybe Nintendo won’t do so badly this time.

Sixth generation wasn't too good for Nintendo. Maybe seventh generation will be better for them; who knows? Only time will tell really.

I say yes.

Nintendo was on top in the 90's simply because it didn't have any real competition, the SNES was worlds ahead of the Genesis in sales, and even the NES was outselling it a couple years into the SNES's lifetime. Nintendo also had the Gameboy, which was unmatched.

They got their first real competition in 95 with the Playstation, which sold more units than the N64, despite the N64 having much better games (both Zeldas, Banjo-Kazooie series, Mario 64, Paper Mario, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Super Smash Bros, and the list can go on) because it had cheaper games and people assumed animated cutscenes = better graphics. Not to mention most Playstation game ads featured FMVs rather than actual gameplay, which further confused the public. Also, Nintendo did not advertise the N64 as well as Sony did their system, they didn't see a need for it, because in the past they had been completely wiping out any competition without the need for massive advertising campaigns. And the Playstation had a year on the N64, which had something to do with the lead. Nintendo also stupidly released the Virtual Boy close to the Playstation, which confused the public into thinking that IT was Nintendo's next gen system, and that fed Sony many sales. And, oh yeah Final Fantasy 7.

Coming into this generation we had another competitor enter the fray, Microsoft, who offered a strong system and strong games. Sony, again having a year on the competition, outsold both other consoles due mostly to Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, and hype. Microsoft outsold Nintendo all places but Japan, due to it's line-up of shooters and action games like Halo, as well as "American RPGs" like Fable and Morrowind. Nintendo also had to deal with the "kiddy" label, that was insanely strong this generation, where people were flat-out ignoring titles like Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil, and Killer 7. The Fact that Nintendo has survived two generations in last place is a true testament to how strong they are now, no other game company could've survived that.

And if you look at their standings now, they essentially won e3 this year, the DSLite is outselling all other systems combined in Japan on a weekly basis, that the Gamecube is only two or three million units behind the X-box, and the DS has not lost to the PSP in America, which many analysts predicted, well, then it's clear Nintendo is stronger today than they've ever been.

They do actually look poised to take back the gaming industry.

i say no. but i dont think they are any weaker as they were back in the 90ies. theres just more and better competition. nintendo is still strong as ever and will probably suprise us when the wii does come out.

I say yes.

Nintendo has learned from its mistakes. Sure, the GameCube can be considered as a failure, though it wasn't completely one.
If people knew how to appreciate consoles, then XBox and GC would top PS2.

Back on topic now, Nintendo takes big risks.

With the DS, the risk wasn't as big as the one with the Wii. The DS at least kept the old features and added some new ones. But the Wii... The Wii changes everything. The risk was gigantic.

Thank God Nintendo convinced people about the difference being a good one, so I think the Wii do very good.

Why I answered yes? Because Nintendo takes risks. Who else does? Is good graphics all we want?

No. Sure, graphics play a big role, but no, thanks, I'd rather not buy something because it looks good.

That said, of course I'd love a game with spectacular graphics, but only if the gameplay is good. Examples? Half-Life 2 and Far Cry.

I hope my post is worth reading, because it took me a lot of time to write.

The things I wrote are my opinions, so please don't flame me.

Comparing the 90's to now, Nintendo were better in the 90's than they are now. Nintendo made the N64 with teenagers in mind (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark etc). The GC was made with teenagers in mind untill they never bought the console, then kids were the focus point leaving the teens who did buy the console no choice but to buy these kids games (Disney themed games, film tie-ins based on kids films) or buy a PS2 or X-Box. Now and again, Ninty allowed matureish games like Metroid, Metal Gear, Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell to come out.

Hopefully, more mature games come out for the Wii to bring in more teens